Perfect Shots Start With The Right Camera & Lens Selection

A Vlogger’s Guide To Camera Lenses

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

The staple of any vlog is the talking headshot, a shot of the speaker talking directly to the audience. You can compose this shot with different kinds of lenses for your interchangeable lens camera.

But which kind of lens is the right lens for you as a vlogger?

In this article, I’m going to help you figure that out.

• Part 1: Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto
• Part 2: Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group
• Part 3: Crop Factor
• Part 4: Focal Length Equivalency Table
• Part 5: Aperture
• Part 6: Vlogging With a Fast Lens
• Part 7: Optical Image Stabilization

Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto

There are three main ranges in focal lengths that camera lenses can be categorized into wide, standard, and telephoto.

Wide-Angle Lens

Wide-angle lenses can “see more.” They allow more of your scene to fit inside your frame. Objects that are closer to the lens appear much bigger while objects that are further away appear even smaller. Perspectives are also enhanced, making close objects and people that just make it into the sides of the frame appear more stretched out. Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, wide-angle lenses will appear the least zoomed in.

Standard Lens

With standard lenses or normal lenses, you won’t get the stretched out objects or enhanced perspectives that you get from wide-angle lenses. Instead, standard lenses are meant to see scenes as the natural human eye is meant to see them. If you shoot a scene with both a wide-angle lens and a standard lens from the same position, you’ll notice that less of the scene fits into your frame. Standard lenses will appear more zoomed-in than wide-angle lenses, but less zoomed-in than telephoto lenses.

Telephoto Lens

Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, telephoto lenses will appear the most zoomed in. This can be beneficial for the shooter who wants to get a closer shot of a scene without having to physically be in close proximity to the scene. Objects that are further away in the background also appear larger and closer than they would appear on wide-angle or standard lenses.

Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group

You can get your talking head footage using lenses from any of the three focal length groups. Depending on how you plan to vlog most of the time, though, one of the three focal lengths might be more suitable for you.

When to vlog with a wide-angle lens

Wide-angle lenses are the most commonly used lenses for vlogging. Wide-angle lenses are great when you need to be close to your camera. This might be the case for you if your recording space is small or if you want to film yourself as you hold your camera up with your own hand.

Being close to your camera not only gives you the option to use your camera’s built-in microphone, but it also gives you the option to make use of camera-mounted shotgun microphones.

When to vlog with a standard lens

Standard lenses are great when you have more space to be further away from your camera. The perspectives in your shot will look more natural through a standard lens, making your talking head footage feel more corporate or professional. You’ll also be able to get blurrier backgrounds using a standard lens versus a wide-angle lens.

Being further away from your camera, however, means that you’ll have to use a separate microphone positioned closer to you.

When to vlog with a telephoto lens

As telephoto lenses are even more zoomed in, you’ll need to be even further away from your camera to fit yourself inside your camera frame. Why would any vlogger ever need to be that far away from their camera? One word… teleprompter. If you want or need to stick to a script, you’ll have to be far away enough from your camera that it doesn’t appear like your eyes are scanning left to right. You then close in the distance with a telephoto lens.

In the above video, Marcos Rocha compares different focal lengths for talking head videos. Which focal length range do you like the look of?

Crop Factor

Focal lengths in camera lenses are measured in millimeters. You can vlog yourself handheld with a 24mm lens on a camera with a full-frame sensor (the sensor is the piece of hardware inside your camera that turns the light it receives into a digital image). But if you use a 24mm lens on a camera with a smaller sensor, like an APS-C sensor or even smaller Micro 4/3 sensor, more of you will get cropped out (see below).

In order to make up for the cropping that occurs, you will need to use a wider lens on cameras with smaller sensors to get the same shot you’d get with a full-frame camera.

Focal Length Equivalency Table

This table shows you the focal lengths needed to achieve the same shot between cameras with different sensor sizes. In order to take a shot as wide as the shot I took of myself with the 24mm lens on my full-frame camera, I would need a 15mm lens on an APS-C sensor camera or a 12mm lens on a micro 4/3 camera.

Focal Length / Sensor	Full Frame	APS-C	Micro 4/3
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	16mm	10mm	8mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	18mm	11mm	9mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	24mm	15mm	12mm
Wide	35mm	22mm	18mm
Standard	50mm	31mm	25mm
Telephoto	70mm	44mm	35mm
Telephoto	100mm	63mm	50mm
Telephoto	200mm	125mm	100mm

Aperture

The next thing to consider when you’re looking for a lens is the aperture, the hole (often adjustable) within the lens that lets light in. Aperture for camera lenses is measured in f-stops (f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2.0) - the smaller the f-stop number, the larger the aperture (bigger hole letting even more light in).

Because larger aperture lenses let more light in, they need a shorter time for cameras to compose an image. This is why larger aperture lenses are also called “fast” lenses.

Fast lenses are more expensive because they cost more to produce. There’s a lot more that goes into them, including larger and higher quality glass elements.

But do you even need a fast lens?

Vlogging With a Fast Lens

Pros of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• Better low-light performance
• Better autofocus performance
• Better “bokeh” (out-of-focus areas, like your background, having that nice blurry look that you see in a lot of movies)

Cons of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• More expensive
• Moving subjects more likely to get out of focus when shooting with a large aperture
• Better continuous autofocus performance needed when shooting moving subjects with a large aperture

Optical Image Stabilization

Finally, you’ll have to decide whether or not you want your lens to have built-in optical image stabilization (OIS).

OIS is very beneficial to have on a lens if you’re a vlogger who films mostly handheld footage. Although this technology adds to the price of your lens as well, it can greatly help you to capture smoother footage that may otherwise be shaky. Nikon calls this technology “Vibration Reduction” (VR) for their lenses.

In the above video, you can see how much OIS can help to stabilize your footage. MicBergsma simultaneously compares the footage between two GoPro Hero5 Blacks, one with OIS on and one with OIS off.

If, however, you are shooting most of your vlogs on a tripod, you won’t need a lens with OIS.

Looking for ways to set up your talking-head shot for YouTube with any of these lenses? Check out our post on 4 Ways To Set Up Your Talking-Head Shots For YouTube .

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

The staple of any vlog is the talking headshot, a shot of the speaker talking directly to the audience. You can compose this shot with different kinds of lenses for your interchangeable lens camera.

But which kind of lens is the right lens for you as a vlogger?

In this article, I’m going to help you figure that out.

• Part 1: Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto
• Part 2: Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group
• Part 3: Crop Factor
• Part 4: Focal Length Equivalency Table
• Part 5: Aperture
• Part 6: Vlogging With a Fast Lens
• Part 7: Optical Image Stabilization

Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto

There are three main ranges in focal lengths that camera lenses can be categorized into wide, standard, and telephoto.

Wide-Angle Lens

Wide-angle lenses can “see more.” They allow more of your scene to fit inside your frame. Objects that are closer to the lens appear much bigger while objects that are further away appear even smaller. Perspectives are also enhanced, making close objects and people that just make it into the sides of the frame appear more stretched out. Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, wide-angle lenses will appear the least zoomed in.

Standard Lens

With standard lenses or normal lenses, you won’t get the stretched out objects or enhanced perspectives that you get from wide-angle lenses. Instead, standard lenses are meant to see scenes as the natural human eye is meant to see them. If you shoot a scene with both a wide-angle lens and a standard lens from the same position, you’ll notice that less of the scene fits into your frame. Standard lenses will appear more zoomed-in than wide-angle lenses, but less zoomed-in than telephoto lenses.

Telephoto Lens

Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, telephoto lenses will appear the most zoomed in. This can be beneficial for the shooter who wants to get a closer shot of a scene without having to physically be in close proximity to the scene. Objects that are further away in the background also appear larger and closer than they would appear on wide-angle or standard lenses.

Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group

You can get your talking head footage using lenses from any of the three focal length groups. Depending on how you plan to vlog most of the time, though, one of the three focal lengths might be more suitable for you.

When to vlog with a wide-angle lens

Wide-angle lenses are the most commonly used lenses for vlogging. Wide-angle lenses are great when you need to be close to your camera. This might be the case for you if your recording space is small or if you want to film yourself as you hold your camera up with your own hand.

Being close to your camera not only gives you the option to use your camera’s built-in microphone, but it also gives you the option to make use of camera-mounted shotgun microphones.

When to vlog with a standard lens

Standard lenses are great when you have more space to be further away from your camera. The perspectives in your shot will look more natural through a standard lens, making your talking head footage feel more corporate or professional. You’ll also be able to get blurrier backgrounds using a standard lens versus a wide-angle lens.

Being further away from your camera, however, means that you’ll have to use a separate microphone positioned closer to you.

When to vlog with a telephoto lens

As telephoto lenses are even more zoomed in, you’ll need to be even further away from your camera to fit yourself inside your camera frame. Why would any vlogger ever need to be that far away from their camera? One word… teleprompter. If you want or need to stick to a script, you’ll have to be far away enough from your camera that it doesn’t appear like your eyes are scanning left to right. You then close in the distance with a telephoto lens.

In the above video, Marcos Rocha compares different focal lengths for talking head videos. Which focal length range do you like the look of?

Crop Factor

Focal lengths in camera lenses are measured in millimeters. You can vlog yourself handheld with a 24mm lens on a camera with a full-frame sensor (the sensor is the piece of hardware inside your camera that turns the light it receives into a digital image). But if you use a 24mm lens on a camera with a smaller sensor, like an APS-C sensor or even smaller Micro 4/3 sensor, more of you will get cropped out (see below).

In order to make up for the cropping that occurs, you will need to use a wider lens on cameras with smaller sensors to get the same shot you’d get with a full-frame camera.

Focal Length Equivalency Table

This table shows you the focal lengths needed to achieve the same shot between cameras with different sensor sizes. In order to take a shot as wide as the shot I took of myself with the 24mm lens on my full-frame camera, I would need a 15mm lens on an APS-C sensor camera or a 12mm lens on a micro 4/3 camera.

Focal Length / Sensor	Full Frame	APS-C	Micro 4/3
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	16mm	10mm	8mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	18mm	11mm	9mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	24mm	15mm	12mm
Wide	35mm	22mm	18mm
Standard	50mm	31mm	25mm
Telephoto	70mm	44mm	35mm
Telephoto	100mm	63mm	50mm
Telephoto	200mm	125mm	100mm

Aperture

The next thing to consider when you’re looking for a lens is the aperture, the hole (often adjustable) within the lens that lets light in. Aperture for camera lenses is measured in f-stops (f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2.0) - the smaller the f-stop number, the larger the aperture (bigger hole letting even more light in).

Because larger aperture lenses let more light in, they need a shorter time for cameras to compose an image. This is why larger aperture lenses are also called “fast” lenses.

Fast lenses are more expensive because they cost more to produce. There’s a lot more that goes into them, including larger and higher quality glass elements.

But do you even need a fast lens?

Vlogging With a Fast Lens

Pros of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• Better low-light performance
• Better autofocus performance
• Better “bokeh” (out-of-focus areas, like your background, having that nice blurry look that you see in a lot of movies)

Cons of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• More expensive
• Moving subjects more likely to get out of focus when shooting with a large aperture
• Better continuous autofocus performance needed when shooting moving subjects with a large aperture

Optical Image Stabilization

Finally, you’ll have to decide whether or not you want your lens to have built-in optical image stabilization (OIS).

OIS is very beneficial to have on a lens if you’re a vlogger who films mostly handheld footage. Although this technology adds to the price of your lens as well, it can greatly help you to capture smoother footage that may otherwise be shaky. Nikon calls this technology “Vibration Reduction” (VR) for their lenses.

In the above video, you can see how much OIS can help to stabilize your footage. MicBergsma simultaneously compares the footage between two GoPro Hero5 Blacks, one with OIS on and one with OIS off.

If, however, you are shooting most of your vlogs on a tripod, you won’t need a lens with OIS.

Looking for ways to set up your talking-head shot for YouTube with any of these lenses? Check out our post on 4 Ways To Set Up Your Talking-Head Shots For YouTube .

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

The staple of any vlog is the talking headshot, a shot of the speaker talking directly to the audience. You can compose this shot with different kinds of lenses for your interchangeable lens camera.

But which kind of lens is the right lens for you as a vlogger?

In this article, I’m going to help you figure that out.

• Part 1: Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto
• Part 2: Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group
• Part 3: Crop Factor
• Part 4: Focal Length Equivalency Table
• Part 5: Aperture
• Part 6: Vlogging With a Fast Lens
• Part 7: Optical Image Stabilization

Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto

There are three main ranges in focal lengths that camera lenses can be categorized into wide, standard, and telephoto.

Wide-Angle Lens

Wide-angle lenses can “see more.” They allow more of your scene to fit inside your frame. Objects that are closer to the lens appear much bigger while objects that are further away appear even smaller. Perspectives are also enhanced, making close objects and people that just make it into the sides of the frame appear more stretched out. Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, wide-angle lenses will appear the least zoomed in.

Standard Lens

With standard lenses or normal lenses, you won’t get the stretched out objects or enhanced perspectives that you get from wide-angle lenses. Instead, standard lenses are meant to see scenes as the natural human eye is meant to see them. If you shoot a scene with both a wide-angle lens and a standard lens from the same position, you’ll notice that less of the scene fits into your frame. Standard lenses will appear more zoomed-in than wide-angle lenses, but less zoomed-in than telephoto lenses.

Telephoto Lens

Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, telephoto lenses will appear the most zoomed in. This can be beneficial for the shooter who wants to get a closer shot of a scene without having to physically be in close proximity to the scene. Objects that are further away in the background also appear larger and closer than they would appear on wide-angle or standard lenses.

Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group

You can get your talking head footage using lenses from any of the three focal length groups. Depending on how you plan to vlog most of the time, though, one of the three focal lengths might be more suitable for you.

When to vlog with a wide-angle lens

Wide-angle lenses are the most commonly used lenses for vlogging. Wide-angle lenses are great when you need to be close to your camera. This might be the case for you if your recording space is small or if you want to film yourself as you hold your camera up with your own hand.

Being close to your camera not only gives you the option to use your camera’s built-in microphone, but it also gives you the option to make use of camera-mounted shotgun microphones.

When to vlog with a standard lens

Standard lenses are great when you have more space to be further away from your camera. The perspectives in your shot will look more natural through a standard lens, making your talking head footage feel more corporate or professional. You’ll also be able to get blurrier backgrounds using a standard lens versus a wide-angle lens.

Being further away from your camera, however, means that you’ll have to use a separate microphone positioned closer to you.

When to vlog with a telephoto lens

As telephoto lenses are even more zoomed in, you’ll need to be even further away from your camera to fit yourself inside your camera frame. Why would any vlogger ever need to be that far away from their camera? One word… teleprompter. If you want or need to stick to a script, you’ll have to be far away enough from your camera that it doesn’t appear like your eyes are scanning left to right. You then close in the distance with a telephoto lens.

In the above video, Marcos Rocha compares different focal lengths for talking head videos. Which focal length range do you like the look of?

Crop Factor

Focal lengths in camera lenses are measured in millimeters. You can vlog yourself handheld with a 24mm lens on a camera with a full-frame sensor (the sensor is the piece of hardware inside your camera that turns the light it receives into a digital image). But if you use a 24mm lens on a camera with a smaller sensor, like an APS-C sensor or even smaller Micro 4/3 sensor, more of you will get cropped out (see below).

In order to make up for the cropping that occurs, you will need to use a wider lens on cameras with smaller sensors to get the same shot you’d get with a full-frame camera.

Focal Length Equivalency Table

This table shows you the focal lengths needed to achieve the same shot between cameras with different sensor sizes. In order to take a shot as wide as the shot I took of myself with the 24mm lens on my full-frame camera, I would need a 15mm lens on an APS-C sensor camera or a 12mm lens on a micro 4/3 camera.

Focal Length / Sensor	Full Frame	APS-C	Micro 4/3
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	16mm	10mm	8mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	18mm	11mm	9mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	24mm	15mm	12mm
Wide	35mm	22mm	18mm
Standard	50mm	31mm	25mm
Telephoto	70mm	44mm	35mm
Telephoto	100mm	63mm	50mm
Telephoto	200mm	125mm	100mm

Aperture

The next thing to consider when you’re looking for a lens is the aperture, the hole (often adjustable) within the lens that lets light in. Aperture for camera lenses is measured in f-stops (f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2.0) - the smaller the f-stop number, the larger the aperture (bigger hole letting even more light in).

Because larger aperture lenses let more light in, they need a shorter time for cameras to compose an image. This is why larger aperture lenses are also called “fast” lenses.

Fast lenses are more expensive because they cost more to produce. There’s a lot more that goes into them, including larger and higher quality glass elements.

But do you even need a fast lens?

Vlogging With a Fast Lens

Pros of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• Better low-light performance
• Better autofocus performance
• Better “bokeh” (out-of-focus areas, like your background, having that nice blurry look that you see in a lot of movies)

Cons of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• More expensive
• Moving subjects more likely to get out of focus when shooting with a large aperture
• Better continuous autofocus performance needed when shooting moving subjects with a large aperture

Optical Image Stabilization

Finally, you’ll have to decide whether or not you want your lens to have built-in optical image stabilization (OIS).

OIS is very beneficial to have on a lens if you’re a vlogger who films mostly handheld footage. Although this technology adds to the price of your lens as well, it can greatly help you to capture smoother footage that may otherwise be shaky. Nikon calls this technology “Vibration Reduction” (VR) for their lenses.

In the above video, you can see how much OIS can help to stabilize your footage. MicBergsma simultaneously compares the footage between two GoPro Hero5 Blacks, one with OIS on and one with OIS off.

If, however, you are shooting most of your vlogs on a tripod, you won’t need a lens with OIS.

Looking for ways to set up your talking-head shot for YouTube with any of these lenses? Check out our post on 4 Ways To Set Up Your Talking-Head Shots For YouTube .

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

The staple of any vlog is the talking headshot, a shot of the speaker talking directly to the audience. You can compose this shot with different kinds of lenses for your interchangeable lens camera.

But which kind of lens is the right lens for you as a vlogger?

In this article, I’m going to help you figure that out.

• Part 1: Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto
• Part 2: Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group
• Part 3: Crop Factor
• Part 4: Focal Length Equivalency Table
• Part 5: Aperture
• Part 6: Vlogging With a Fast Lens
• Part 7: Optical Image Stabilization

Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto

There are three main ranges in focal lengths that camera lenses can be categorized into wide, standard, and telephoto.

Wide-Angle Lens

Wide-angle lenses can “see more.” They allow more of your scene to fit inside your frame. Objects that are closer to the lens appear much bigger while objects that are further away appear even smaller. Perspectives are also enhanced, making close objects and people that just make it into the sides of the frame appear more stretched out. Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, wide-angle lenses will appear the least zoomed in.

Standard Lens

With standard lenses or normal lenses, you won’t get the stretched out objects or enhanced perspectives that you get from wide-angle lenses. Instead, standard lenses are meant to see scenes as the natural human eye is meant to see them. If you shoot a scene with both a wide-angle lens and a standard lens from the same position, you’ll notice that less of the scene fits into your frame. Standard lenses will appear more zoomed-in than wide-angle lenses, but less zoomed-in than telephoto lenses.

Telephoto Lens

Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, telephoto lenses will appear the most zoomed in. This can be beneficial for the shooter who wants to get a closer shot of a scene without having to physically be in close proximity to the scene. Objects that are further away in the background also appear larger and closer than they would appear on wide-angle or standard lenses.

Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group

You can get your talking head footage using lenses from any of the three focal length groups. Depending on how you plan to vlog most of the time, though, one of the three focal lengths might be more suitable for you.

When to vlog with a wide-angle lens

Wide-angle lenses are the most commonly used lenses for vlogging. Wide-angle lenses are great when you need to be close to your camera. This might be the case for you if your recording space is small or if you want to film yourself as you hold your camera up with your own hand.

Being close to your camera not only gives you the option to use your camera’s built-in microphone, but it also gives you the option to make use of camera-mounted shotgun microphones.

When to vlog with a standard lens

Standard lenses are great when you have more space to be further away from your camera. The perspectives in your shot will look more natural through a standard lens, making your talking head footage feel more corporate or professional. You’ll also be able to get blurrier backgrounds using a standard lens versus a wide-angle lens.

Being further away from your camera, however, means that you’ll have to use a separate microphone positioned closer to you.

When to vlog with a telephoto lens

As telephoto lenses are even more zoomed in, you’ll need to be even further away from your camera to fit yourself inside your camera frame. Why would any vlogger ever need to be that far away from their camera? One word… teleprompter. If you want or need to stick to a script, you’ll have to be far away enough from your camera that it doesn’t appear like your eyes are scanning left to right. You then close in the distance with a telephoto lens.

In the above video, Marcos Rocha compares different focal lengths for talking head videos. Which focal length range do you like the look of?

Crop Factor

Focal lengths in camera lenses are measured in millimeters. You can vlog yourself handheld with a 24mm lens on a camera with a full-frame sensor (the sensor is the piece of hardware inside your camera that turns the light it receives into a digital image). But if you use a 24mm lens on a camera with a smaller sensor, like an APS-C sensor or even smaller Micro 4/3 sensor, more of you will get cropped out (see below).

In order to make up for the cropping that occurs, you will need to use a wider lens on cameras with smaller sensors to get the same shot you’d get with a full-frame camera.

Focal Length Equivalency Table

This table shows you the focal lengths needed to achieve the same shot between cameras with different sensor sizes. In order to take a shot as wide as the shot I took of myself with the 24mm lens on my full-frame camera, I would need a 15mm lens on an APS-C sensor camera or a 12mm lens on a micro 4/3 camera.

Focal Length / Sensor	Full Frame	APS-C	Micro 4/3
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	16mm	10mm	8mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	18mm	11mm	9mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	24mm	15mm	12mm
Wide	35mm	22mm	18mm
Standard	50mm	31mm	25mm
Telephoto	70mm	44mm	35mm
Telephoto	100mm	63mm	50mm
Telephoto	200mm	125mm	100mm

Aperture

The next thing to consider when you’re looking for a lens is the aperture, the hole (often adjustable) within the lens that lets light in. Aperture for camera lenses is measured in f-stops (f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2.0) - the smaller the f-stop number, the larger the aperture (bigger hole letting even more light in).

Because larger aperture lenses let more light in, they need a shorter time for cameras to compose an image. This is why larger aperture lenses are also called “fast” lenses.

Fast lenses are more expensive because they cost more to produce. There’s a lot more that goes into them, including larger and higher quality glass elements.

But do you even need a fast lens?

Vlogging With a Fast Lens

Pros of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• Better low-light performance
• Better autofocus performance
• Better “bokeh” (out-of-focus areas, like your background, having that nice blurry look that you see in a lot of movies)

Cons of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• More expensive
• Moving subjects more likely to get out of focus when shooting with a large aperture
• Better continuous autofocus performance needed when shooting moving subjects with a large aperture

Optical Image Stabilization

Finally, you’ll have to decide whether or not you want your lens to have built-in optical image stabilization (OIS).

OIS is very beneficial to have on a lens if you’re a vlogger who films mostly handheld footage. Although this technology adds to the price of your lens as well, it can greatly help you to capture smoother footage that may otherwise be shaky. Nikon calls this technology “Vibration Reduction” (VR) for their lenses.

In the above video, you can see how much OIS can help to stabilize your footage. MicBergsma simultaneously compares the footage between two GoPro Hero5 Blacks, one with OIS on and one with OIS off.

If, however, you are shooting most of your vlogs on a tripod, you won’t need a lens with OIS.

Looking for ways to set up your talking-head shot for YouTube with any of these lenses? Check out our post on 4 Ways To Set Up Your Talking-Head Shots For YouTube .

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Maximizing Video Impact Fairly and Effectively

How to Buy YouTube Views - Everything You Need To Know

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

This article has everything you need to know before you buy YouTube views, including:

1. Where to Buy Views
2. How Does it Work?
3. What to Look for in a Service
4. Is Buying Views Illegal?
5. Will Buying Views Get Me Banned From YouTube?

Disclaimer: We in no way endorse the practice of buying views. It could be dangerous for your channel and will damage your credibility with your real viewers if they find out.

YouTube is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms today. The amount of time we spend watching YouTube videos daily is simply mindboggling. The amazing thing about YouTube is how easy it is to share content and, in the process, build your audience. Many people have launched careers on the success of their videos and the popularity of their channels. It doesn’t matter if you are an expert, a hobbyist, an aspiring musician, a citizen journalist, a DIY maven, a cook, or a makeup fiend – YouTube can help you reach more people, develop your brand and launch your new career. All you have to do is create your channel, upload good videos, promote your content, and watch the magic happen. Well, if only it were that simple…

In reality, getting people to watch your content can be difficult. Even for people who have large personal networks, hitting 5000 or 10000 views can be tough. The reason is simply that YouTube videos, like other web content, thrive on Social Proof, and Social Proof equals credibility. The more views a video has, the more people are willing to watch it, and the better its chances of featuring as recommended content. It’s a vicious cycle. Time and time again, we see that given the choice, people would rather watch a video with 2000 views instead of a video with 200 views.

This is why buying YouTube views can be a great way to jumpstart the organic views of your content. It’s no silver bullet of course, but it can get you off to a good start. Buying YouTube views can help your video gain traction and get recommended. The trick is to buy from sources that provide real US and UK views in ways that do not violate YouTube’s Terms of Service (TOS). There are many scam services out there that can get your video the wrong kind of attention. Be sure to do your research before you buy, and understand that this is a tactic which promises short-term results. Buying YouTube views can be useful. However, it is no guarantee of long-term success. You still need to put hard work into your content for it to work.

WHERE TO BUY VIEWS

These top 5 sites for buying YouTube views are ranked according to the quality of the targeted views they deliver, viewer engagement, responsiveness, turnaround time, and their moneyback guarantee (if they have one). The site which tested these services is called BuyViewsReview. To learn more about the top providers of YouTube views, and how you can avoid scams, click here .

Tip: you want ‘high retention views’ – views where your video has been watched for a significant period, not just clicked on. These will help your search engine rankings.

1. DEVUMI

Devumi is our #1 pick for buying YouTube views because it provides the best value for money. To start with, all Devumi’s packages come with likes included so there’s no need to shop around for engagement and retention after buying views from Devumi. They have a 100% money-back guarantee and some of the fastest turnaround time available on the market (for genuine high-retention views. Some bot services are faster, but it’s against YouTube’s TOS to use bots).

2. BuyViews

BuyViews come in at a close second to Devumi. They offer various social promotion options along with their packages. They also have an impressive 60% – 90% retention rate as well as a 100% moneyback guarantee. However, their turnaround time isn’t as good as Devumi’s. Also, they provide no time guarantee on their retention rate.

3. MarketingHeaven

MarketingHeaven makes buying YouTube views very easy. On their homepage, you can add the link to the video you’d like to promote, select the number of views you want from a dropdown list and top it off with an optional selection of likes. While this ease of use is a plus, MarketingHeaven is a bit more expensive than the top 2 sites on this list, and it provides no retention guarantee. Also, it takes longer to see results and it provides no options for social promotion.

4. 500VIEWS

On 500VIEWS you can buy everything, including YouTube views, likes, comments, and subscribers. They have an add-ons system that’s very easy to use. However, they don’t deliver on quality, retention, engagement, and customer support like the top 3 sites. It can also take up to 1 week to get results from 500VIEWS.

5. Social Shop

Social Shop has a very nice mix of packages. At the lowest end, they have the micro package which gets you 1000 views for $2, and at the high end, they have the Pro package which gets you 1,000,000 views for $999. Considering this range of options, their turnaround time of 2 days isn’t bad at all. However, Social Shop has limited engagement options. Unlike other sites on this list, they do not provide likes, comments, or subscribers. Their customer support also doesn’t compare too well against others on this list.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Buying YouTube views is easy and safe if you buy from reliable sources like the sites at the top of the list above. It also helps to know how YouTube judges view to understand why it’s important to choose the right source.

YouTube ranks views based on the location of the viewers and the quality of viewer engagement. When a user who is based in the US or UK uploads a video and it gets most of its views from Russia or Asia, that raises a red flag. YouTube checks to see that a good number of video viewers are part of the user’s target demographic, and that makes sense. You want targeted YouTube views because that can boost organic retention rates significantly. Untargeted views can lead to a high bounce rate which can lead YouTube to conclude that your video has been mistitled, among other things.

The best sellers of YouTube views go the extra mile to provide a mixed demographic of views with targeted hits from the US and UK to avoid the wrong kind of attention.

Some sellers simply rent IPs from different places and send them to the video link. While this method might not be detected by YouTube, it offers very low retention because there are no real people behind those IP addresses. It is always best to buy from sellers who can send real people to watch, like, and comment on your videos. Anything else is risky and can bring your content under increased scrutiny from YouTube.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A GOOD VIEW-BUYING WEBSITE

The most important thing to look for in a good view buying website is a guarantee that you’ll be getting real humans, not bots, to watch your video. This is the only way to get organic retention and engagement from your purchase. While robots will inflate your views, there’ll be little else to show for those high numbers. Bot views won’t help you rank in search results, and they may hurt your chances of ranking (they also violate YouTube’s TOS and can get your videos taken down). With human views, things can be different.

Bear in mind that buying views will not guarantee long-term success or impactful engagement. This is why buying YouTube views is seen as a short-term tactic for jumpstarting organic growth and not something to keep on doing forever. Content creators still have to promote their content and build real relationships with their viewers to see meaningful results in the long term.

Next, you want to be sure that your view buying website can deliver targeted views. If you’re based in the UK, you want views from the UK, US, Australia, and Canada. Views originating predominantly from Russia or certain parts of Eastern Europe and Asia could give you away, and you’d run the risk of disciplinary action from YouTube. Buying views isn’t technically against the rules, as long as they are human views, but if YouTube suspects there is a bot at work then they won’t be interested in any appeals about how ‘the service said they didn’t use bots’.

It’s also important to buy from providers whose viewers are active on YouTube. Their history of activity on YouTube will only boost the credibility of their views and by extension, the credibility of your video and its growing popularity.

Finally, you want to avoid sellers who provide views in a way that can put you at risk. Sites that provide views from similar IPs and same browsers with the same or similar cookies are just too obvious. YouTube can pick-up on that kind of activity and you could potentially have a problem on your hands.

IS BUYING VIEWS ILLEGAL?

No. This goes double for users who are not monetizing their content. Videos that promote violence and copyright violations are illegal. Buying views is not against the law, or even YouTube’s Terms of Service depending on where your views come from.

YouTube’s TOS does state clearly that partners are not to engage third parties to “… generate artificial subscribers or views.” Partners are generally understood to be users who are monetizing their channels through affiliate programs or AdSense, and ‘artificial’ means the views need to come from a bot to be against the rules. However, some interpret this to mean that buying YouTube views is against the TOS for all users. It seems like YouTube would rather you not buy views at all since the language is ambiguous, but since there’s a way in which buying ads through Google for your channel could be seen as buying views they haven’t formally outlawed it. Whatever your perspective, there’s no denying that buying views is a risky business. This is all the more reason you should choose the sites you buy from carefully.

Also, keep in mind that tech companies like Google constantly review their policies. Bloggers have had to change tactics with changes to Google’s search engine algorithm. There’s no telling how things may change or evolve with YouTube in the future. That is why we strongly recommend that you buy views from websites that can deliver real human views with strong guarantees of service delivery and reliable turnaround times. Anything short of this could expose you and your content to the kind of attention you certainly don’t want.

WILL BUYING VIEWS GET ME BANNED FROM YOUTUBE?

As mentioned above, buying views alone is unlikely to get you banned from YouTube. The worst-case scenario is that your video may be taken down for ‘view count gaming’ and even then, there’s an appeals process. The important thing is to understand Google and YouTube’s Terms of Service (TOS). Only explicit and egregious violations of their TOS could get your banned. You should also be mindful that community policing is a big part of how YouTube discovers users who may violate their TOS. If many viewers flag your video for takedown due to copyright violation or abusive content, that can lead to serious disciplinary action from YouTube and in some cases, you may be banned for life.

That’s why it’s important to buy likes and comments as well if you’re going to buy a large number of views – lots of views and no engagement will make organic viewers think you used a bot and they may report you.

Buying YouTube views is not illegal and certainly will not incur the same kind of disciplinary action as clear violations of YouTube’s TOS. What matters is that you buy your views in a way that won’t attract the wrong kind of attention. YouTube will sometimes flag videos for view auditing. If views are found to be fake, the view count is dropped to exclude fake views. If this has happened to you after you bought YouTube views, be wary of buying from the same source again. If your video is repeatedly found to be attracting purchased fake views, it may be taken down.

Conclusion

We see videos with thousands and millions of views so often that it’s easy to forget just how difficult it can be to get people to watch your videos. YouTube is very competitive, and it takes time to build a reputation, and the following needed to become a YouTube star.

To compete for viewer attention and engagement, it helps to have good numbers. Buying views can give you an edge by telling people that your content is worth their time. Just be sure to buy your views from the right sources. And after you’ve bought your views, do your part to promote your video on YouTube and other social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Also, engage with your audience and create content consistently. With all these in place, your audience will grow organically, and eventually, you may get your moment in the spotlight.

What do you think? Would you buy YouTube views, or can you get by growing your channel organically?

Use Excellent Video Editor to Gain More Views

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

This article has everything you need to know before you buy YouTube views, including:

1. Where to Buy Views
2. How Does it Work?
3. What to Look for in a Service
4. Is Buying Views Illegal?
5. Will Buying Views Get Me Banned From YouTube?

Disclaimer: We in no way endorse the practice of buying views. It could be dangerous for your channel and will damage your credibility with your real viewers if they find out.

YouTube is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms today. The amount of time we spend watching YouTube videos daily is simply mindboggling. The amazing thing about YouTube is how easy it is to share content and, in the process, build your audience. Many people have launched careers on the success of their videos and the popularity of their channels. It doesn’t matter if you are an expert, a hobbyist, an aspiring musician, a citizen journalist, a DIY maven, a cook, or a makeup fiend – YouTube can help you reach more people, develop your brand and launch your new career. All you have to do is create your channel, upload good videos, promote your content, and watch the magic happen. Well, if only it were that simple…

In reality, getting people to watch your content can be difficult. Even for people who have large personal networks, hitting 5000 or 10000 views can be tough. The reason is simply that YouTube videos, like other web content, thrive on Social Proof, and Social Proof equals credibility. The more views a video has, the more people are willing to watch it, and the better its chances of featuring as recommended content. It’s a vicious cycle. Time and time again, we see that given the choice, people would rather watch a video with 2000 views instead of a video with 200 views.

This is why buying YouTube views can be a great way to jumpstart the organic views of your content. It’s no silver bullet of course, but it can get you off to a good start. Buying YouTube views can help your video gain traction and get recommended. The trick is to buy from sources that provide real US and UK views in ways that do not violate YouTube’s Terms of Service (TOS). There are many scam services out there that can get your video the wrong kind of attention. Be sure to do your research before you buy, and understand that this is a tactic which promises short-term results. Buying YouTube views can be useful. However, it is no guarantee of long-term success. You still need to put hard work into your content for it to work.

WHERE TO BUY VIEWS

These top 5 sites for buying YouTube views are ranked according to the quality of the targeted views they deliver, viewer engagement, responsiveness, turnaround time, and their moneyback guarantee (if they have one). The site which tested these services is called BuyViewsReview. To learn more about the top providers of YouTube views, and how you can avoid scams, click here .

Tip: you want ‘high retention views’ – views where your video has been watched for a significant period, not just clicked on. These will help your search engine rankings.

1. DEVUMI

Devumi is our #1 pick for buying YouTube views because it provides the best value for money. To start with, all Devumi’s packages come with likes included so there’s no need to shop around for engagement and retention after buying views from Devumi. They have a 100% money-back guarantee and some of the fastest turnaround time available on the market (for genuine high-retention views. Some bot services are faster, but it’s against YouTube’s TOS to use bots).

2. BuyViews

BuyViews come in at a close second to Devumi. They offer various social promotion options along with their packages. They also have an impressive 60% – 90% retention rate as well as a 100% moneyback guarantee. However, their turnaround time isn’t as good as Devumi’s. Also, they provide no time guarantee on their retention rate.

3. MarketingHeaven

MarketingHeaven makes buying YouTube views very easy. On their homepage, you can add the link to the video you’d like to promote, select the number of views you want from a dropdown list and top it off with an optional selection of likes. While this ease of use is a plus, MarketingHeaven is a bit more expensive than the top 2 sites on this list, and it provides no retention guarantee. Also, it takes longer to see results and it provides no options for social promotion.

4. 500VIEWS

On 500VIEWS you can buy everything, including YouTube views, likes, comments, and subscribers. They have an add-ons system that’s very easy to use. However, they don’t deliver on quality, retention, engagement, and customer support like the top 3 sites. It can also take up to 1 week to get results from 500VIEWS.

5. Social Shop

Social Shop has a very nice mix of packages. At the lowest end, they have the micro package which gets you 1000 views for $2, and at the high end, they have the Pro package which gets you 1,000,000 views for $999. Considering this range of options, their turnaround time of 2 days isn’t bad at all. However, Social Shop has limited engagement options. Unlike other sites on this list, they do not provide likes, comments, or subscribers. Their customer support also doesn’t compare too well against others on this list.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Buying YouTube views is easy and safe if you buy from reliable sources like the sites at the top of the list above. It also helps to know how YouTube judges view to understand why it’s important to choose the right source.

YouTube ranks views based on the location of the viewers and the quality of viewer engagement. When a user who is based in the US or UK uploads a video and it gets most of its views from Russia or Asia, that raises a red flag. YouTube checks to see that a good number of video viewers are part of the user’s target demographic, and that makes sense. You want targeted YouTube views because that can boost organic retention rates significantly. Untargeted views can lead to a high bounce rate which can lead YouTube to conclude that your video has been mistitled, among other things.

The best sellers of YouTube views go the extra mile to provide a mixed demographic of views with targeted hits from the US and UK to avoid the wrong kind of attention.

Some sellers simply rent IPs from different places and send them to the video link. While this method might not be detected by YouTube, it offers very low retention because there are no real people behind those IP addresses. It is always best to buy from sellers who can send real people to watch, like, and comment on your videos. Anything else is risky and can bring your content under increased scrutiny from YouTube.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A GOOD VIEW-BUYING WEBSITE

The most important thing to look for in a good view buying website is a guarantee that you’ll be getting real humans, not bots, to watch your video. This is the only way to get organic retention and engagement from your purchase. While robots will inflate your views, there’ll be little else to show for those high numbers. Bot views won’t help you rank in search results, and they may hurt your chances of ranking (they also violate YouTube’s TOS and can get your videos taken down). With human views, things can be different.

Bear in mind that buying views will not guarantee long-term success or impactful engagement. This is why buying YouTube views is seen as a short-term tactic for jumpstarting organic growth and not something to keep on doing forever. Content creators still have to promote their content and build real relationships with their viewers to see meaningful results in the long term.

Next, you want to be sure that your view buying website can deliver targeted views. If you’re based in the UK, you want views from the UK, US, Australia, and Canada. Views originating predominantly from Russia or certain parts of Eastern Europe and Asia could give you away, and you’d run the risk of disciplinary action from YouTube. Buying views isn’t technically against the rules, as long as they are human views, but if YouTube suspects there is a bot at work then they won’t be interested in any appeals about how ‘the service said they didn’t use bots’.

It’s also important to buy from providers whose viewers are active on YouTube. Their history of activity on YouTube will only boost the credibility of their views and by extension, the credibility of your video and its growing popularity.

Finally, you want to avoid sellers who provide views in a way that can put you at risk. Sites that provide views from similar IPs and same browsers with the same or similar cookies are just too obvious. YouTube can pick-up on that kind of activity and you could potentially have a problem on your hands.

IS BUYING VIEWS ILLEGAL?

No. This goes double for users who are not monetizing their content. Videos that promote violence and copyright violations are illegal. Buying views is not against the law, or even YouTube’s Terms of Service depending on where your views come from.

YouTube’s TOS does state clearly that partners are not to engage third parties to “… generate artificial subscribers or views.” Partners are generally understood to be users who are monetizing their channels through affiliate programs or AdSense, and ‘artificial’ means the views need to come from a bot to be against the rules. However, some interpret this to mean that buying YouTube views is against the TOS for all users. It seems like YouTube would rather you not buy views at all since the language is ambiguous, but since there’s a way in which buying ads through Google for your channel could be seen as buying views they haven’t formally outlawed it. Whatever your perspective, there’s no denying that buying views is a risky business. This is all the more reason you should choose the sites you buy from carefully.

Also, keep in mind that tech companies like Google constantly review their policies. Bloggers have had to change tactics with changes to Google’s search engine algorithm. There’s no telling how things may change or evolve with YouTube in the future. That is why we strongly recommend that you buy views from websites that can deliver real human views with strong guarantees of service delivery and reliable turnaround times. Anything short of this could expose you and your content to the kind of attention you certainly don’t want.

WILL BUYING VIEWS GET ME BANNED FROM YOUTUBE?

As mentioned above, buying views alone is unlikely to get you banned from YouTube. The worst-case scenario is that your video may be taken down for ‘view count gaming’ and even then, there’s an appeals process. The important thing is to understand Google and YouTube’s Terms of Service (TOS). Only explicit and egregious violations of their TOS could get your banned. You should also be mindful that community policing is a big part of how YouTube discovers users who may violate their TOS. If many viewers flag your video for takedown due to copyright violation or abusive content, that can lead to serious disciplinary action from YouTube and in some cases, you may be banned for life.

That’s why it’s important to buy likes and comments as well if you’re going to buy a large number of views – lots of views and no engagement will make organic viewers think you used a bot and they may report you.

Buying YouTube views is not illegal and certainly will not incur the same kind of disciplinary action as clear violations of YouTube’s TOS. What matters is that you buy your views in a way that won’t attract the wrong kind of attention. YouTube will sometimes flag videos for view auditing. If views are found to be fake, the view count is dropped to exclude fake views. If this has happened to you after you bought YouTube views, be wary of buying from the same source again. If your video is repeatedly found to be attracting purchased fake views, it may be taken down.

Conclusion

We see videos with thousands and millions of views so often that it’s easy to forget just how difficult it can be to get people to watch your videos. YouTube is very competitive, and it takes time to build a reputation, and the following needed to become a YouTube star.

To compete for viewer attention and engagement, it helps to have good numbers. Buying views can give you an edge by telling people that your content is worth their time. Just be sure to buy your views from the right sources. And after you’ve bought your views, do your part to promote your video on YouTube and other social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Also, engage with your audience and create content consistently. With all these in place, your audience will grow organically, and eventually, you may get your moment in the spotlight.

What do you think? Would you buy YouTube views, or can you get by growing your channel organically?

Use Excellent Video Editor to Gain More Views

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

This article has everything you need to know before you buy YouTube views, including:

1. Where to Buy Views
2. How Does it Work?
3. What to Look for in a Service
4. Is Buying Views Illegal?
5. Will Buying Views Get Me Banned From YouTube?

Disclaimer: We in no way endorse the practice of buying views. It could be dangerous for your channel and will damage your credibility with your real viewers if they find out.

YouTube is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms today. The amount of time we spend watching YouTube videos daily is simply mindboggling. The amazing thing about YouTube is how easy it is to share content and, in the process, build your audience. Many people have launched careers on the success of their videos and the popularity of their channels. It doesn’t matter if you are an expert, a hobbyist, an aspiring musician, a citizen journalist, a DIY maven, a cook, or a makeup fiend – YouTube can help you reach more people, develop your brand and launch your new career. All you have to do is create your channel, upload good videos, promote your content, and watch the magic happen. Well, if only it were that simple…

In reality, getting people to watch your content can be difficult. Even for people who have large personal networks, hitting 5000 or 10000 views can be tough. The reason is simply that YouTube videos, like other web content, thrive on Social Proof, and Social Proof equals credibility. The more views a video has, the more people are willing to watch it, and the better its chances of featuring as recommended content. It’s a vicious cycle. Time and time again, we see that given the choice, people would rather watch a video with 2000 views instead of a video with 200 views.

This is why buying YouTube views can be a great way to jumpstart the organic views of your content. It’s no silver bullet of course, but it can get you off to a good start. Buying YouTube views can help your video gain traction and get recommended. The trick is to buy from sources that provide real US and UK views in ways that do not violate YouTube’s Terms of Service (TOS). There are many scam services out there that can get your video the wrong kind of attention. Be sure to do your research before you buy, and understand that this is a tactic which promises short-term results. Buying YouTube views can be useful. However, it is no guarantee of long-term success. You still need to put hard work into your content for it to work.

WHERE TO BUY VIEWS

These top 5 sites for buying YouTube views are ranked according to the quality of the targeted views they deliver, viewer engagement, responsiveness, turnaround time, and their moneyback guarantee (if they have one). The site which tested these services is called BuyViewsReview. To learn more about the top providers of YouTube views, and how you can avoid scams, click here .

Tip: you want ‘high retention views’ – views where your video has been watched for a significant period, not just clicked on. These will help your search engine rankings.

1. DEVUMI

Devumi is our #1 pick for buying YouTube views because it provides the best value for money. To start with, all Devumi’s packages come with likes included so there’s no need to shop around for engagement and retention after buying views from Devumi. They have a 100% money-back guarantee and some of the fastest turnaround time available on the market (for genuine high-retention views. Some bot services are faster, but it’s against YouTube’s TOS to use bots).

2. BuyViews

BuyViews come in at a close second to Devumi. They offer various social promotion options along with their packages. They also have an impressive 60% – 90% retention rate as well as a 100% moneyback guarantee. However, their turnaround time isn’t as good as Devumi’s. Also, they provide no time guarantee on their retention rate.

3. MarketingHeaven

MarketingHeaven makes buying YouTube views very easy. On their homepage, you can add the link to the video you’d like to promote, select the number of views you want from a dropdown list and top it off with an optional selection of likes. While this ease of use is a plus, MarketingHeaven is a bit more expensive than the top 2 sites on this list, and it provides no retention guarantee. Also, it takes longer to see results and it provides no options for social promotion.

4. 500VIEWS

On 500VIEWS you can buy everything, including YouTube views, likes, comments, and subscribers. They have an add-ons system that’s very easy to use. However, they don’t deliver on quality, retention, engagement, and customer support like the top 3 sites. It can also take up to 1 week to get results from 500VIEWS.

5. Social Shop

Social Shop has a very nice mix of packages. At the lowest end, they have the micro package which gets you 1000 views for $2, and at the high end, they have the Pro package which gets you 1,000,000 views for $999. Considering this range of options, their turnaround time of 2 days isn’t bad at all. However, Social Shop has limited engagement options. Unlike other sites on this list, they do not provide likes, comments, or subscribers. Their customer support also doesn’t compare too well against others on this list.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Buying YouTube views is easy and safe if you buy from reliable sources like the sites at the top of the list above. It also helps to know how YouTube judges view to understand why it’s important to choose the right source.

YouTube ranks views based on the location of the viewers and the quality of viewer engagement. When a user who is based in the US or UK uploads a video and it gets most of its views from Russia or Asia, that raises a red flag. YouTube checks to see that a good number of video viewers are part of the user’s target demographic, and that makes sense. You want targeted YouTube views because that can boost organic retention rates significantly. Untargeted views can lead to a high bounce rate which can lead YouTube to conclude that your video has been mistitled, among other things.

The best sellers of YouTube views go the extra mile to provide a mixed demographic of views with targeted hits from the US and UK to avoid the wrong kind of attention.

Some sellers simply rent IPs from different places and send them to the video link. While this method might not be detected by YouTube, it offers very low retention because there are no real people behind those IP addresses. It is always best to buy from sellers who can send real people to watch, like, and comment on your videos. Anything else is risky and can bring your content under increased scrutiny from YouTube.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A GOOD VIEW-BUYING WEBSITE

The most important thing to look for in a good view buying website is a guarantee that you’ll be getting real humans, not bots, to watch your video. This is the only way to get organic retention and engagement from your purchase. While robots will inflate your views, there’ll be little else to show for those high numbers. Bot views won’t help you rank in search results, and they may hurt your chances of ranking (they also violate YouTube’s TOS and can get your videos taken down). With human views, things can be different.

Bear in mind that buying views will not guarantee long-term success or impactful engagement. This is why buying YouTube views is seen as a short-term tactic for jumpstarting organic growth and not something to keep on doing forever. Content creators still have to promote their content and build real relationships with their viewers to see meaningful results in the long term.

Next, you want to be sure that your view buying website can deliver targeted views. If you’re based in the UK, you want views from the UK, US, Australia, and Canada. Views originating predominantly from Russia or certain parts of Eastern Europe and Asia could give you away, and you’d run the risk of disciplinary action from YouTube. Buying views isn’t technically against the rules, as long as they are human views, but if YouTube suspects there is a bot at work then they won’t be interested in any appeals about how ‘the service said they didn’t use bots’.

It’s also important to buy from providers whose viewers are active on YouTube. Their history of activity on YouTube will only boost the credibility of their views and by extension, the credibility of your video and its growing popularity.

Finally, you want to avoid sellers who provide views in a way that can put you at risk. Sites that provide views from similar IPs and same browsers with the same or similar cookies are just too obvious. YouTube can pick-up on that kind of activity and you could potentially have a problem on your hands.

IS BUYING VIEWS ILLEGAL?

No. This goes double for users who are not monetizing their content. Videos that promote violence and copyright violations are illegal. Buying views is not against the law, or even YouTube’s Terms of Service depending on where your views come from.

YouTube’s TOS does state clearly that partners are not to engage third parties to “… generate artificial subscribers or views.” Partners are generally understood to be users who are monetizing their channels through affiliate programs or AdSense, and ‘artificial’ means the views need to come from a bot to be against the rules. However, some interpret this to mean that buying YouTube views is against the TOS for all users. It seems like YouTube would rather you not buy views at all since the language is ambiguous, but since there’s a way in which buying ads through Google for your channel could be seen as buying views they haven’t formally outlawed it. Whatever your perspective, there’s no denying that buying views is a risky business. This is all the more reason you should choose the sites you buy from carefully.

Also, keep in mind that tech companies like Google constantly review their policies. Bloggers have had to change tactics with changes to Google’s search engine algorithm. There’s no telling how things may change or evolve with YouTube in the future. That is why we strongly recommend that you buy views from websites that can deliver real human views with strong guarantees of service delivery and reliable turnaround times. Anything short of this could expose you and your content to the kind of attention you certainly don’t want.

WILL BUYING VIEWS GET ME BANNED FROM YOUTUBE?

As mentioned above, buying views alone is unlikely to get you banned from YouTube. The worst-case scenario is that your video may be taken down for ‘view count gaming’ and even then, there’s an appeals process. The important thing is to understand Google and YouTube’s Terms of Service (TOS). Only explicit and egregious violations of their TOS could get your banned. You should also be mindful that community policing is a big part of how YouTube discovers users who may violate their TOS. If many viewers flag your video for takedown due to copyright violation or abusive content, that can lead to serious disciplinary action from YouTube and in some cases, you may be banned for life.

That’s why it’s important to buy likes and comments as well if you’re going to buy a large number of views – lots of views and no engagement will make organic viewers think you used a bot and they may report you.

Buying YouTube views is not illegal and certainly will not incur the same kind of disciplinary action as clear violations of YouTube’s TOS. What matters is that you buy your views in a way that won’t attract the wrong kind of attention. YouTube will sometimes flag videos for view auditing. If views are found to be fake, the view count is dropped to exclude fake views. If this has happened to you after you bought YouTube views, be wary of buying from the same source again. If your video is repeatedly found to be attracting purchased fake views, it may be taken down.

Conclusion

We see videos with thousands and millions of views so often that it’s easy to forget just how difficult it can be to get people to watch your videos. YouTube is very competitive, and it takes time to build a reputation, and the following needed to become a YouTube star.

To compete for viewer attention and engagement, it helps to have good numbers. Buying views can give you an edge by telling people that your content is worth their time. Just be sure to buy your views from the right sources. And after you’ve bought your views, do your part to promote your video on YouTube and other social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Also, engage with your audience and create content consistently. With all these in place, your audience will grow organically, and eventually, you may get your moment in the spotlight.

What do you think? Would you buy YouTube views, or can you get by growing your channel organically?

Use Excellent Video Editor to Gain More Views

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

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This article has everything you need to know before you buy YouTube views, including:

1. Where to Buy Views
2. How Does it Work?
3. What to Look for in a Service
4. Is Buying Views Illegal?
5. Will Buying Views Get Me Banned From YouTube?

Disclaimer: We in no way endorse the practice of buying views. It could be dangerous for your channel and will damage your credibility with your real viewers if they find out.

YouTube is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms today. The amount of time we spend watching YouTube videos daily is simply mindboggling. The amazing thing about YouTube is how easy it is to share content and, in the process, build your audience. Many people have launched careers on the success of their videos and the popularity of their channels. It doesn’t matter if you are an expert, a hobbyist, an aspiring musician, a citizen journalist, a DIY maven, a cook, or a makeup fiend – YouTube can help you reach more people, develop your brand and launch your new career. All you have to do is create your channel, upload good videos, promote your content, and watch the magic happen. Well, if only it were that simple…

In reality, getting people to watch your content can be difficult. Even for people who have large personal networks, hitting 5000 or 10000 views can be tough. The reason is simply that YouTube videos, like other web content, thrive on Social Proof, and Social Proof equals credibility. The more views a video has, the more people are willing to watch it, and the better its chances of featuring as recommended content. It’s a vicious cycle. Time and time again, we see that given the choice, people would rather watch a video with 2000 views instead of a video with 200 views.

This is why buying YouTube views can be a great way to jumpstart the organic views of your content. It’s no silver bullet of course, but it can get you off to a good start. Buying YouTube views can help your video gain traction and get recommended. The trick is to buy from sources that provide real US and UK views in ways that do not violate YouTube’s Terms of Service (TOS). There are many scam services out there that can get your video the wrong kind of attention. Be sure to do your research before you buy, and understand that this is a tactic which promises short-term results. Buying YouTube views can be useful. However, it is no guarantee of long-term success. You still need to put hard work into your content for it to work.

WHERE TO BUY VIEWS

These top 5 sites for buying YouTube views are ranked according to the quality of the targeted views they deliver, viewer engagement, responsiveness, turnaround time, and their moneyback guarantee (if they have one). The site which tested these services is called BuyViewsReview. To learn more about the top providers of YouTube views, and how you can avoid scams, click here .

Tip: you want ‘high retention views’ – views where your video has been watched for a significant period, not just clicked on. These will help your search engine rankings.

1. DEVUMI

Devumi is our #1 pick for buying YouTube views because it provides the best value for money. To start with, all Devumi’s packages come with likes included so there’s no need to shop around for engagement and retention after buying views from Devumi. They have a 100% money-back guarantee and some of the fastest turnaround time available on the market (for genuine high-retention views. Some bot services are faster, but it’s against YouTube’s TOS to use bots).

2. BuyViews

BuyViews come in at a close second to Devumi. They offer various social promotion options along with their packages. They also have an impressive 60% – 90% retention rate as well as a 100% moneyback guarantee. However, their turnaround time isn’t as good as Devumi’s. Also, they provide no time guarantee on their retention rate.

3. MarketingHeaven

MarketingHeaven makes buying YouTube views very easy. On their homepage, you can add the link to the video you’d like to promote, select the number of views you want from a dropdown list and top it off with an optional selection of likes. While this ease of use is a plus, MarketingHeaven is a bit more expensive than the top 2 sites on this list, and it provides no retention guarantee. Also, it takes longer to see results and it provides no options for social promotion.

4. 500VIEWS

On 500VIEWS you can buy everything, including YouTube views, likes, comments, and subscribers. They have an add-ons system that’s very easy to use. However, they don’t deliver on quality, retention, engagement, and customer support like the top 3 sites. It can also take up to 1 week to get results from 500VIEWS.

5. Social Shop

Social Shop has a very nice mix of packages. At the lowest end, they have the micro package which gets you 1000 views for $2, and at the high end, they have the Pro package which gets you 1,000,000 views for $999. Considering this range of options, their turnaround time of 2 days isn’t bad at all. However, Social Shop has limited engagement options. Unlike other sites on this list, they do not provide likes, comments, or subscribers. Their customer support also doesn’t compare too well against others on this list.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Buying YouTube views is easy and safe if you buy from reliable sources like the sites at the top of the list above. It also helps to know how YouTube judges view to understand why it’s important to choose the right source.

YouTube ranks views based on the location of the viewers and the quality of viewer engagement. When a user who is based in the US or UK uploads a video and it gets most of its views from Russia or Asia, that raises a red flag. YouTube checks to see that a good number of video viewers are part of the user’s target demographic, and that makes sense. You want targeted YouTube views because that can boost organic retention rates significantly. Untargeted views can lead to a high bounce rate which can lead YouTube to conclude that your video has been mistitled, among other things.

The best sellers of YouTube views go the extra mile to provide a mixed demographic of views with targeted hits from the US and UK to avoid the wrong kind of attention.

Some sellers simply rent IPs from different places and send them to the video link. While this method might not be detected by YouTube, it offers very low retention because there are no real people behind those IP addresses. It is always best to buy from sellers who can send real people to watch, like, and comment on your videos. Anything else is risky and can bring your content under increased scrutiny from YouTube.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A GOOD VIEW-BUYING WEBSITE

The most important thing to look for in a good view buying website is a guarantee that you’ll be getting real humans, not bots, to watch your video. This is the only way to get organic retention and engagement from your purchase. While robots will inflate your views, there’ll be little else to show for those high numbers. Bot views won’t help you rank in search results, and they may hurt your chances of ranking (they also violate YouTube’s TOS and can get your videos taken down). With human views, things can be different.

Bear in mind that buying views will not guarantee long-term success or impactful engagement. This is why buying YouTube views is seen as a short-term tactic for jumpstarting organic growth and not something to keep on doing forever. Content creators still have to promote their content and build real relationships with their viewers to see meaningful results in the long term.

Next, you want to be sure that your view buying website can deliver targeted views. If you’re based in the UK, you want views from the UK, US, Australia, and Canada. Views originating predominantly from Russia or certain parts of Eastern Europe and Asia could give you away, and you’d run the risk of disciplinary action from YouTube. Buying views isn’t technically against the rules, as long as they are human views, but if YouTube suspects there is a bot at work then they won’t be interested in any appeals about how ‘the service said they didn’t use bots’.

It’s also important to buy from providers whose viewers are active on YouTube. Their history of activity on YouTube will only boost the credibility of their views and by extension, the credibility of your video and its growing popularity.

Finally, you want to avoid sellers who provide views in a way that can put you at risk. Sites that provide views from similar IPs and same browsers with the same or similar cookies are just too obvious. YouTube can pick-up on that kind of activity and you could potentially have a problem on your hands.

IS BUYING VIEWS ILLEGAL?

No. This goes double for users who are not monetizing their content. Videos that promote violence and copyright violations are illegal. Buying views is not against the law, or even YouTube’s Terms of Service depending on where your views come from.

YouTube’s TOS does state clearly that partners are not to engage third parties to “… generate artificial subscribers or views.” Partners are generally understood to be users who are monetizing their channels through affiliate programs or AdSense, and ‘artificial’ means the views need to come from a bot to be against the rules. However, some interpret this to mean that buying YouTube views is against the TOS for all users. It seems like YouTube would rather you not buy views at all since the language is ambiguous, but since there’s a way in which buying ads through Google for your channel could be seen as buying views they haven’t formally outlawed it. Whatever your perspective, there’s no denying that buying views is a risky business. This is all the more reason you should choose the sites you buy from carefully.

Also, keep in mind that tech companies like Google constantly review their policies. Bloggers have had to change tactics with changes to Google’s search engine algorithm. There’s no telling how things may change or evolve with YouTube in the future. That is why we strongly recommend that you buy views from websites that can deliver real human views with strong guarantees of service delivery and reliable turnaround times. Anything short of this could expose you and your content to the kind of attention you certainly don’t want.

WILL BUYING VIEWS GET ME BANNED FROM YOUTUBE?

As mentioned above, buying views alone is unlikely to get you banned from YouTube. The worst-case scenario is that your video may be taken down for ‘view count gaming’ and even then, there’s an appeals process. The important thing is to understand Google and YouTube’s Terms of Service (TOS). Only explicit and egregious violations of their TOS could get your banned. You should also be mindful that community policing is a big part of how YouTube discovers users who may violate their TOS. If many viewers flag your video for takedown due to copyright violation or abusive content, that can lead to serious disciplinary action from YouTube and in some cases, you may be banned for life.

That’s why it’s important to buy likes and comments as well if you’re going to buy a large number of views – lots of views and no engagement will make organic viewers think you used a bot and they may report you.

Buying YouTube views is not illegal and certainly will not incur the same kind of disciplinary action as clear violations of YouTube’s TOS. What matters is that you buy your views in a way that won’t attract the wrong kind of attention. YouTube will sometimes flag videos for view auditing. If views are found to be fake, the view count is dropped to exclude fake views. If this has happened to you after you bought YouTube views, be wary of buying from the same source again. If your video is repeatedly found to be attracting purchased fake views, it may be taken down.

Conclusion

We see videos with thousands and millions of views so often that it’s easy to forget just how difficult it can be to get people to watch your videos. YouTube is very competitive, and it takes time to build a reputation, and the following needed to become a YouTube star.

To compete for viewer attention and engagement, it helps to have good numbers. Buying views can give you an edge by telling people that your content is worth their time. Just be sure to buy your views from the right sources. And after you’ve bought your views, do your part to promote your video on YouTube and other social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Also, engage with your audience and create content consistently. With all these in place, your audience will grow organically, and eventually, you may get your moment in the spotlight.

What do you think? Would you buy YouTube views, or can you get by growing your channel organically?

Use Excellent Video Editor to Gain More Views

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

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